Apple harvest time starts early in the desert Southwest. In my low desert garden, it arrives precisely in the first half of June.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, this year’s apple harvest was to be a special one because for the first time, my own apple trees would provide a sufficient harvest without us having to pick the trees on the family farm.
On a bright and sunny June morning, I headed out into the potager (my kitchen garden) along with four teenagers and a 3-year old to pick apples.
We harvested 4 large bags full of sweet, tart apples from my ‘Anna’ and ‘Dorsett Golden’ apple trees, which are the verities that do best in hot, desert climates.
So, what did we plan on doing with all these apples?
Well, besides eating them raw, the plan was to make an apple pie with a cinnamon sugar crust, apple chips and applesauce.
Now, you may think that making an apple pie would be the last thing that a teenager would want to do. But, my kids along with my niece, look forward to this day every year.
I make one pie a year, so we make an occasion of it.
Before we get any further, I’d like to tell you about the participants in today’s apple adventure.
Ruthie – my 17-year old daughter
Gracie – my 13-year old daughter
Sofie – my 16-year old niece
Gracie C. – 17-year old friend of my daughter
Lily – my 3-year old granddaughter
While Ruthie and Sofie were peeling apples, Gracie C. worked on thinly slicing the apples.
Lily and Gracie had fun watching the peeling and slicing and were waiting patiently for their turn to help.
Lily’s job was to help mix the apple slices in a bowl filled with water with some lemon juice to keep the apples from browning.
Once the apples were ready, we made the pie crust. I use a mixture of both butter and vegetable shortening in my pie crust.
I taught the girls how to make a decorative pie crust edge using their fingers.
This may have been their favorite part.
To add an extra special touch to the pie, we brushed it with egg wash and then sprinkled cinnamon sugar on the top.
Here is the finished product, ready to bake in the oven.
*I’d like to note that I do not claim to be a professional food photographer like my sister. I use no special lighting and didn’t take the time to clean the counter before taking the photo 🙂
The kids had so much fun making the pie and couldn’t wait to eat it once it we took it out of the oven, which explains why I have no ‘after’ photos of our pie!
Now that our annual pie was finished, we got to work on our second apple recipe – Cinnamon Sugar Apple Chips.
Apple chips are ridiculously easy to make and they are addictive!
All you need to do is to slice them very thinly – a mandolin works great, if you have one. There is no need to peel or core the apples, which makes this an easy recipe – simply remove any stray seeds from the slices.
Lay the apple slices on a cookie sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Lily had fun with the apple slices with holes in the center.
We sprinkled the apples with cinnamon sugar, but this an optional step – you don’t have to add any cinnamon sugar.
Bake the apples in a 200 degree F oven for 1 hour and then turn the apple slices over and bake for another hour.
The apples should be crispy and melt in your mouth. A word of caution – they won’t last long!
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While this photo protrays three normal teenage girls, their story is anything but average.
Their story together began years ago, before they were adopted and came to the U.S.
All of these girls grew up together in an orphanage in China. They formed deep bonds with each other and became each other’s family in the absence of parents. They often referred to themselves as “orphanage sisters”.
Unlike many adoptions, the girls waited until they were older to be adopted. Sofie and Gracie C. were adopted in 2006 and Ruthie in 2007.
Along with several other “orphanage sisters”, who were also adopted, we had a reunion several years ago in Colorado and since then, both the parents and kids have stayed in touch.
Gracie C. flew into town to visit with Ruthie and Sofie and it was so wonderful seeing them together again!
**You can read about our adoption journey to get Ruthie, here.**
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I do. I enjoy their soft texture, flowers, and the pollinators that come to enjoy their flowers.
Today, I’d like to share with you one of my favorite perennials that I have growing in my garden.
Gaura lindheimeri is a drought-tolerant perennial that produces small, delicate flowers that resemble butterflies floating in the air.
Available in white and pink colors, they are grown as a perennial or used as an annual in colder climates. This is one of the few plants that you can find growing in a desert garden and in more temperate climates such as the Midwest and Northeast.
This lovely perennial deserves to be seen more in the garden and I’d love to share more about gaura with you and why you’ll want to add it to your landscape in my latest Houzz article.
It’s hotter than he** (dare I use the word “hell”?) outside in June and while most desert dwellers can be found hibernating indoors enjoying air-conditioned temperatures in the 70’s – you’ll find a few of us darting outdoors to pick apples.
While parts of the country wait until late summer and on into early fall to harvest apples – June is apple harvesting time in the desert.
apple harvesting
Many people don’t realize that apple trees can grow in the desert Southwest – so do apricots, peaches and plums.
The key to growing these types of fruit trees is our relatively cold temperatures. They need a certain number of “chilling hours”, which are when temperatures are within 32 – 45 degrees F.
When summer temperatures are hovering in the 100+ range, it’s hard to recall what cold winter temperatures feel like, but it’s those chilly temps that make it possible to grow apple trees.
In the past years, I have harvested my apples from among the several apple trees located on the family farm.
But, not this year.
Three years ago, we transformed our side garden, creating a “potager”, which is a French term for a kitchen garden filled with fruits, herbs, vegetables alongside ornamental plants.
In the potager, we have the largest of our vegetable gardens, blackberry bushes, two peach trees, an orange tree and two apple trees.
The apple trees are located toward the end of the garden with the blackberry bushes growing against the wall.
This was what they looked like 1 1/2 years ago. Since then, they have grown quickly and are filled with apples, ready for us to pick.
Today, we will head out in the morning and pick our apples. There are so many growing, that I won’t need any from the family farm.
Normally, I make applesauce and an apple pie from apples. This year, I will make those but will add to it. We will also be making apple chips and apple sugar. Who knows? If we get a ton of apples, I may need to find more things to make with them.
My daughter, Ruthie, and niece, Sofie, will help me along with a very special friend who is their “orphanage sister”.
**Next time, I’ll share their special story along with all the goodies we make along with helpful links so you can make them yourself with apples from the supermarket.
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Whenever I look back on my garden travels, I find that my favorites tend to be the smaller ones with more of a personal feel. Ones that I can take my time walking through without feeling like I have to hurry in order to see the entire garden.
Recently, I visited a small garden run by Washington State University that is located in Mount Vernon, WA. The WSU Discovery Garden was designed by master gardeners and divided up into multiple smaller-themed gardens filled with creative elements.
Last week, I shared with you about some of the themed gardens, including the Four Seasons, Herb, Naturescape, Shade as well as the composting area along with its ‘Yuck Bin’.
While these gardens were fun to explore, I’ve saved the best for last!
I am a strong proponent of teaching children the joys of gardening, so I was especially excited to explore the Children’s Garden.
The gateway to the garden started down a ‘yellow brick road’ through an archway with weeping mulberry growing on it, creating the impression of entering through a green tunnel into a land of make-believe.
The curving pathway that ran down the center of the garden, included the game of ‘hopscotch’. I confess that I had an overwhelming impulse to hop down the pathway, but restrained myself. But, it did bring back memories of playing hopscotch on the playground when I was in elementary school!
For those who may be unfamiliar with the rules of ‘hopscotch’, there were helpful instructions.
Other areas in the garden included a small playground set and a bench that encircled a small tree.
Two vertical gardening towers stood sentinel in the center of the garden and were planted with strawberries and carrots.
In the corner of the Children’s Garden, sat Alice with the Queen of Hearts and the Mad Hatter.
An unusual ‘hotel’ was sitting off to the side. This insect hotel has lots of nooks and crannies for solitary bees and other pollinating insects to stay. In addition, insects that stay in the ‘hotel’ also help to keep damaging insects away from the garden.
Insect hotels are typically made up of scrap bits of wood and hollow bamboo reeds.
This hotel was quite fancy and had a roof planted with hen and chicks succulents.
A giant checkerboard beckoned kids (& adults) to try their hand at a friendly game.
Of course, instructions were also included.
Visitors strolling along the ‘yellow brick road’ must pass underneath an arch with a flying monkey keeping watch.
The next garden on our tour was the Enabling Garden.
The word “enabling” means to “give someone the means to do something”, which is exactly what this garden does. It gives people with disabilities the means to garden.
This garden bed was created for those who are visually impaired.
It’s filled with a variety of plants along with rock to provide a variety of textures that are experienced primarily through touch.
The velvety feel of lamb’s ear is a favorite of many gardeners and I find myself always reaching out to touch their leaves.
White rock is used to create small planting islands and helps visually impaired visitors to experience the separate planting islands in the raised bed.
A collection of ‘hens & chicks’ add spiky texture that can be touched safely.
A variety of mosses also grew in the garden.
This raised bed was built with a sitting ledge around it, which makes it easier for those who have trouble standing or bending over to garden. With this type of bed, you can simply sit on the edge and tend to the garden.
I have several clients who have had raised beds built since they can no longer bend down to garden for a variety of reasons.
At first glance, can you tell how this planting bed can be enabling?
Note the empty area underneath the bed – can you see how it would make someone who was wheelchair bound or uses a walker be able to get up close to garden?
Besides having garden beds to enable people with disabilities to garden, there was a helpful display with a variety of gardening tools that can make gardening easier.
Each tool had a description of how it can help make routine gardening tasks easier, which is helpful for those with disabilities and even those who don’t.
Photo: 2010
The display of enabling gardening tools spoke directly to my heart as a mother of a child with disabilities.
My son, Kai, has a disability that affects his joints, which makes everyday tasks difficult. He loves to help me in the garden, but even using a pair of hand pruners is hard for him to use correctly.
Photo: March 2006
In Kai’s short life, he has had several operations, which have left him wheelchair bound for weeks at a time and having a place where he could enjoy everyday activities, such as gardening, would be a blessing.
Walking through the garden, I noticed a sign pointing off to the outer area of the garden toward the Native Plant Garden.
Being in the Northwest, you can imagine that the path through patches of lush greenery.
As a landscape consultant, I hear of people’s frustration at trying to grow certain plants.
No matter where you live – the desert, jungle or in the Arctic Circle – the easiest way to garden is to grow plants that are native to your area.
The next best thing is to grow plants that are adapted to your area, which are native to climates similar to yours.
If you follow that simple piece of advice, you will enjoy a beautiful garden with a minimum of work since the plants will thrive with little to no attention because they are adapted to your climate.
When traveling, I always like to take time to learn more about the native plants that grow there.
Walking back toward the main areas of the garden, we passed by the Meadow Garden.
The garden consisted of grasses and wildflowers.
Throughout the year, you’ll find different flowers in bloom.
The last garden we visited was the Vegetable Garden.
However, it wasn’t just anyone’s vegetable garden…
It belonged to an infamous gardener.
Mr. McGregor’s garden was a good-sized plot filled with a variety of vegetables, including some that I decided to try in my garden in the fall.
This lovely row of leafy greens are green and purple spinach. I didn’t know that there was such thing as purple spinach. But, I do like to add unexpected color in my garden and so I will be sure to add this to my garden.
Garlic was growing nicely and would be ready to harvest in a month. You can tell when it is ready to be harvested with the outer leeaves begin to yellow and turn brown.
This crop caught my eye.
Can you tell what these are?
Potatoes!
To be completely honest, I’ve grown them a few times, but it is a lot of work for only a few potatoes in my desert garden so I don’t plant them anymore.
A healthy crop of sugar snap peas were in full flower.
I particularly love the color and shape of their flowers, don’t you?
This is one crop that I do plant each year.
An old wheelbarrow planted with radishes caught me eye as did the watering can with its strawberries.
My brother-in-law found an old, rusty wheelbarrow for my garden and I can’t wait to plant it!
It was obvious that Mr. McGregor took very good care of his garden and it was well fenced in.
But, that didn’t keep a particular rabbit from getting in 🙂
Thank you for joining me on a tour of this special garden. If you ever find yourself driving north of Seattle, toward Vancouver, take an hour and visit – you won’t be disappointed!
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On another note, we just returned from a weekend trip to Southern California where we visited my daughter, Rachele, who is stationed there in the Navy.
While we always have fun visiting her, it is even more so now because we also get to spend time with our new grandson!
He is absolutely darling and smiles more than any baby I’ve ever seen. He is one happy baby!
When we visit, we are able to stay on the Navy base with our daughter in her townhouse, which makes visiting her easier and less expensive than having to stay in a hotel.
As often occurs whenever we visit, we usually find ourselves driving the short distance to Santa Barbara. This California city is not only a beautiful place to visit, but it also holds a special place in my heart since it is where I met my husband in college.
We are back home now but look forward to seeing Rachele and her son, Eric, next month when they come out to visit us 🙂
Have you ever visited a garden that was not what you expected?
I recently had the opportunity to visit a small 2-acre garden run by master gardeners Mount Vernon, WA in conjunction with Washington State University.
Photo: Pink Dogwood
Now for those of you who kindly read through my myraid of garden travels on my Northwest road trip – this garden was somewhat different and completely unexpected.
I’ve had the opportunity through my travels to visit a number of gardens run by master gardeners and I have found them to be places for learning more about plants and gardening practices.
Discovery Garden
While I expected much of the same with this garden, I found so much more. Within its boundaries, there were so many separate gardens including a 4 seasons, cottage, Japanese, native, shade and sun garden just to name a few. However, in addition to the more traditional gardens, were also an imaginative children’s garden and an enabling garden for those with disabilities.
I’ve been waiting to share the wonders of this garden with you. I hope you enjoy the tour!
Discovery Garden
Discovery Garden
The Discovery Garden is located in the small town of Mount Vernon, otherwise known as the bulb-growing capital of the U.S. It is 60 miles north of Seattle.
Espaliered apple trees grew on the fence along the front entry.
Small apples were ripening, which made me remember that Washington is the state where the most apples are grown.
As we entered the gardens, we noticed helpful signs that described the theme of each sub-garden along with a list of the plants growing in it.
The paths curved, creating islands where each individual garden stood. This photo, above, shows how curving paths create a sense of mystery, leading one on to discover what is around the bend.
The Four Seasons garden showed examples of plants in bloom alongside others that will bloom later in the season.
Of course, anywhere I find peonies growing, I find it hard to tear myself away from this lovely flowering plant that can never grow in my warm desert garden.
Japanese gardens are quite popular in the Northwest and this garden had one of its own.
My mother and I journeyed through the garden on a cloudy Saturday morning. As we walked through the gardens, we met with one of the 27 master gardeners who take care of this garden.
She was nice enough to take us on a tour of the gardens and told us that the entire garden was designed by master gardeners. I must admit that the landscape designer in me was extremely impressed at how well it was designed.
Gardeners know that most landscapes hold secrets that aren’t always evident to the casual observer and this one was no different.
She guided us toward a tree that held a tiny hummingbird’s nest.
They have Anna’s hummingbirds living in the gardens year round.
However, I was very happy to be able to see a Rufous hummingbird for the very first time, drinking nectar from nearby flowers.
Continuing on our adventure through the garden, I spotted swaths of purple in the distance.
Have I ever told you that I like irises almost as much as peonies?
Thankfully, these can be grown in my Arizona garden.
The Herb Garden was next.
The sage was in full bloom and it was hard to imagine that people grow them for their foliage and not their lovely flowers.
There was even a variegated sage.
I really liked these rustic plant signs.
Within the Herb Garden, was a display with a list of herbs and how they are used as dyes.
Who knew that basil is used as a black dye?
Photo: Flowering Garlic Chives
Our time in this garden was limited since we had a plane to catch in Seattle in the early afternoon. To be honest, we hadn’t expected to find so much to explore in this university garden and so we had rush to see as much as we could.
Photo: Columbine
Of course, like most educational gardens, this one had a great compost working display.
Divided bins were filled with ‘greens’, ‘browns’ and ‘twigs’.
However, my favorite part was the ‘Yuck Bin’…
One of the many reasons that I like to visit gardens whenever I travel is that I get to see plants that don’t grow where I live.
This is the Heather Garden, filled with a variety of heathers.
I admit that I haven’t seen much heather growing except for trips to Great Britain.
Some of the heathers were beginning to flower.
While there is much more to see, I want to share with you one last garden area in this post that really caught my eye.
Have you ever heard of ‘naturescaping’? I haven’t, but it immediately sounded like my style of sustainable, low-maintenance garden.
This area of the garden was filled with native plants and associated cultivars that receive minimal maintenance. The plants were chosen with the goal of attracting wildlife with many plants providing shelter and food.
I hope you have enjoyed the first part of the tour of this small garden.
But, I’m not finished yet. I’ve saved the best for last. Come back next time to see the Children’s, Enabling, Native and Vegetable Gardens.
You may even spot the elusive Peter Rabbit in Mr. McGregor’s garden…
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For those of us who live in warm, southern climates, you’ll often see a citrus tree or two in the growing in the backyard.
While I do have a lemon and orange tree growing in my garden, that is just the beginning of my fruit crop. I also have a pair of apple and peach trees that generously provide us with fruit in late spring.
The final fruit crop that I grow isn’t found on a tree but rather on bushes.
Ever since I was a child in Southern California, I have loved blackberries. We had a line of blackberry bushes growing along the back wall of our suburban home and it was often a race between us and our dog ‘Smitty’ to see who would get to them first.
Now, I have my own blackberry bushes growing in my side garden, which are located right behind my apple trees.
While I enjoy eating fresh fruit, I also like to make jam so that I can enjoy the fruits of my garden throughout the entire year.
Last month, I made several batches of peach jam and last week, it was time to make my first batch of blackberry jam.
It took a few weeks to get all of the blackberries picked from the bushes. The reason for this is that not all the berries ripened at once, so we would freeze them after picking until the entire bush was clean of berries.
My 13-year-old son asked if he could help me make the jam. I was pleasantly surprised that he would want to help me, but I will take any opportunity I can to spend time with my son.
We gathered supplies – canning jars with lids, sugar, powdered pectin and a canner.
The first step involved mashing the blackberries in a large pot before adding the powdered pectin.
The blackberry mixture had to be heated to a high temperature until it began to boil.
Then it was time to add the sugar. Jam takes a lot of sugar, but I don’t like mine overly sweet, so I decreased the amount of sugar by 1 cup.
It helps to have the sugar pre-measured before boiling the fruit mixture.
After adding the sugar, we needed to heat the mixture back up to boiling. It was nice to have a helper, since you have to stir the entire time. Once it begins to boil, you have to let it continue for 1 minute before taking off the heat.
Take a couple of minutes to scoop off any foam that accumulated on the top of the blackberry jam before filling sterilized jam jars.
We carefully added the hot blackberry jam mixture into the jam jars. It smelled so good that we were tempted to try some, but decided against it since we didn’t want to burn our mouths.
Using the handy magnet utensil that came with my canning kit, I carefully put on the lids.
At this point, you can allow the jam to cool and then enjoy it on toast or English muffin. But, you will need to refrigerate the jam unless you want to preserve it by processing it by water bath canning.
A hot water canning bath involves submerging the jars of jam in boiling water for several minutes. This will preserve the blackberry jam and allow it to last over a year on the pantry shelf.
Canning kits include a large pot, metal insert, funnel, magnet utensil for lids and tongs. They are relatively inexpensive and can be found at Walmart or Amazon. I have even seen them in my local Ace Hardware store.
After a 10-minute boiling water bath, the jam was ready to be taken out carefully with tongs.
We let them sit overnight to cool before eagerly tasting the fruits of our labors.
It is hard to compare the delicious taste of homemade jam that was made from fruit from your own garden. In fact, I find myself tempted to make a second piece of toast just so I can enjoy some more delicious blackberry jam.
Of course, you don’t have to grow your own fruit to be able to make jam – simply buy some fruit at your local grocery store or farmers market. Earlier this month, I saw 1/2 pint containers of blackberries on sale for 97¢.
While I make jam every year, this was the first time I’ve made blackberry jam and I can’t wait until next year to make some more.
Thankfully, I have eleven jars to last me through the next year.
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Want to learn more about canning?
If you are lucky, maybe your grandmother, mother, or aunt can teach you. 5 years ago, my mother taught me how to make jam and I’ve never stopped.
If you don’t have anyone to teach you, a simple Google search can help you find a class offered nearby or you can learn how to online.
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Do you have a neat and tidy front landscape? One where plants are pruned neatly and at the right time of year. Where drip lines are covered up and where there is never a weed in sight?
Or maybe you would describe your front garden space as somewhat natural and untamed. Where plants are late in getting pruned (if at all), drip tubing is exposed and where weeds can be found lurking in hidden corners?
Today, I’d like to share with you a story of two landscapes – the ‘neat and tidy’ neighbors have a perfectly lovely landscape filled with a combination of flowering plants and succulents. There is always something blooming in their garden in all seasons.
They even planted the outside of their side wall with pinky muhly grasses even though they don’t see this area of their landscape.
Now, let’s look at the second set of neighbors who have a ‘natural and untamed’ garden…
While this landscape is also filled with flowering plants at all seasons, you’ll notice a weed or two next to the purple trailing lantana, exposed drip tubing and a smattering of dead leaves from the nearby tree.
The plants in the ‘natural and untamed’ landscape aren’t always pruned right away and sometimes grow into nearby plants before being pruned.
If you look carefully, you’ll often find a weed (sometimes two or five) hiding alongside shrubs and underneath groundcovers.
Despite their differences in their landscape maintenance practices, the neighbors are good friends and have lived near each other for over 10 years.
Now that I have created the setting, I’d like to share with you something that happened this week that made the owner of the ‘natural and untamed’ garden absurdly happy.
As she was driving by her ‘neat and tidy’ neighbor’s house, she noticed something definitely out of place.
At first, she could hardly believe what she was seeing – a weed! It was something that she had NEVER seen growing in her neighbor’s landscape.
And it wasn’t just a little weed – it was a really big one!
The sight of this unwelcome weed brought a smile to her face as she drove a couple of houses down to her ‘natural and untamed’ landscape filled with more weeds than she would care to admit to hiding among the rambling shrubs and groundcovers.
This tale of two landscapes and a single weed leads me to ask you this question:
Which type of landscape does yours resemble?
Neat & Tidy or Natural & Untamed
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As you may have guessed (or recognized my landscape), one of the neighbors in this story is me and before I wrote this story, I got my neighbor’s permission to show their single, solitary weed.
While I like the idea of having a neat and tidy garden, I am frankly so busy helping others with their landscapes that I don’t always have time to tend mine as much as I would like.
Maybe someday, we will have time to cover up the drip tubing, get rid of all our weeds and prune our plants at the right time of year.
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The last full day of our Northwest road trip began with a ferry ride yesterday.
The ferry was to take us from Victoria to Vancouver.
When we arrived for the ferry, approximately 60 minutes early, we got in line with our car – it looks like a bunch of cars stopped on a freeway. You then turn off the engine and sit in the car or lock it up and head over to the rest stop, complete with restaurant and shops until you are notified to start boarding the ferry.
We felt a bit more experienced this time with the process of bringing our rental car onto the ferry (as it was our second time) and walking upstairs to the passenger levels.
What we weren’t prepared for was how huge this ferry was. There were 3 levels for cars, busses and even semi-trailer trucks.
Food options consisted of a large cafe and coffee shop.
There was a very large gift shop AND a video arcade – my kids would love this!
You could also venture outside to see the beauty of the islands we passed by.
After docking just outside of Vancouver, we promptly headed toward the city.
We were somewhat surprised at how much traffic there was and it took a very long time to arrive at our hotel downtown.
This morning, after a quick breakfast, we were going to take the city trolley tour so that we could hop on and off to see the many attractions of this vibrant city.
However, we were informed because of the ongoing transit strike, that the tour was delayed. So, we decided to go out on our own.
It is a fun and creative place with artist studios where you watch art being created before your eyes – a definite draw for both locals and tourists alike.
Stores offering unique wares are scattered throughout the small island.
If you have pets, this shop in a railroad car likely have just the right thing for your 4-legged friend.
When I travel, I like to find stores that sell handcrafted items made from local residents. I found a beautiful Christmas ornament in this little store made by an 80-year old woman.
As we walked through the streets of the public market, there was a small dog that was walking about in its own.
He was obviously at home and comfortable with his surroundings. He paid no mind to us or any other passersby.
Now before you think that this is a lost dog – think again. He belongs to one of the local vendors and has free reign of the market.
Our attention was drawn to a nearby lake where a family of Canadian geese were swimming.
On shore, we met up with another feathered family. I found it symbolic that on our last day in Canada, that we would see Canadian geese.
We had hoped to see more of this beautiful city, but there was so much traffic due to the transit strike and it took a very long time to travel small distances, so we made the difficult decision to cut our visit short by a few hours and head back toward the States.
On our way out of the city, we spotted this community garden.
Vancouver is quite close to the U.S. border and we soon found ourselves sitting a long line to cross over the border. We settled ourselves in for a long wait.
As we inched our way closer, we saw this archway at the actual border. I like this wonderful statement about our two countries.
People anxious to visit the United States took turns taking pictures next to this sign while waiting for their cars to go through the border crossing.
It’s almost our turn!
While we had a wonderful time in Canada, I didn’t like having to pay for an international phone plan, which had extremely limited data (which I went over).
While waiting in line to cross, once we got within feet of the border my phone suddenly got a ‘No Service’ signal and then once we crossed, my regular carrier took over and I was so happy to be able to use my normal cell phone allowances again.
Since we had some extra time to fill due to our shortened visit to Vancouver, we stopped by the Fairhaven historic downtown neighborhood in Bellingham, WA.
Many of the stores had garden themed products and while I have no plans on seeing the ‘Fifty Shades of Gray’ movie, I may need to read this book 🙂
We spent about an hour shopping, spending time in a clothing boutique, checking out the local bookstore and admiring some really lovely handmade woodwork.
The last night of our road trip is to be spent in Mount Vernon, WA before we leave in the morning for Seattle where we will fly home.
Mount Vernon is known for being the largest producer of flower bulbs. They also have the Skagit Tulip Festival every April.
Choosing Mount Vernon for the last stop of our trip was largely due to its proximity from the Seattle airport AND a small garden that we wanted to visit.
The gardens are free to visit and you are welcome to walk around on your own.
The centerpiece of the garden is made up of circular beds of rose bushes surrounding a gazebo – an ideal place for a wedding.
The backdrop for the roses and gazebo are formally shaped shrubs underplanted with flowering perennials.
However, it was what was behind the formal garden space that really interested me…
Behind the formally-pruned shrubs were the more informal areas of the garden.
Trees, shrubs and perennials were planted in a carefree mixture, tied together by pathways of green grass.
To be honest, there were plenty of weeds intermixed with the flowering shrubs and plants. But, it is this untamed, natural type of garden that I like best.
Several, large flowering shrubs provided vivid displays of color.
As we were admiring the flowers, we rounded the corner and came face to face with four little goats…
They were busy eating the fresh green grass and initially paid no attention to us.
A little robin stood in our path and was quite friendly.
He didn’t move until we got quit close and then hopped to the fence. Robins are rare in my neck of the woods, so I always look forward to seeing them when I travel.
The goats finally noticed our presence and came over to see if we had any food to share. Sadly, we didn’t.
I crouched down to take a picture of the friendliest goat and didn’t realize how close I was until he licked my camera’s lens.
Even though we didn’t have any food for them that didn’t stop one of them from following my mother as we walked along the path.
The pathway along the goat’s enclosure was just on the other side of the formal garden, which was separated by large shrubs.
Alongside the pathway, I saw a plant that I have rarely seen before – holly!
As we neared the end of our tour of the garden, I looked back toward our cute little friends and was trying to figure out how I could possibly talk my husband and HOA into letting us have goats 😉
This garden is surrounded by fields of wheat and the Cascade mountain range can be seen in the distance.
It is well worth the visit if you ever find yourself traveling in Northern Washington State.
We have had so many wonderful adventures during our fifth annual road trip. But, I am excited to come home and see my husband, kids, grandkids, dogs, garden – you get the picture…
https://www.azplantlady.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/IMG_3946.jpg483640arizonaplantlady@gmail.comhttps://www.azplantlady.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/AZ-Plant-Lady-Logo-small.jpgarizonaplantlady@gmail.com2015-05-23 05:12:002021-01-02 08:29:12Road Trip Day 8: City Traffic, Border Crossings and a Farm House Garden
Our last day in Victoria was reserved for a visit to a very famous garden. Butchart Gardens is the place to go for visitors to Victoria.
Years ago, my in-laws took me and my husband, as a college graduation gift, to Seattle and Victoria. The year was 1998, and I was finishing up the last semester of my horticulture degree.
Flush with my new knowledge of plants and horticultural practices, I was especially looking forward to visiting this beautiful garden. Fast forward 17 years later, I was excited to go back.
My mother and fellow travel companion.
Immediately upon leaving the parking lot, we were faced with fragrant, yellow wisteria that draped over an arbor.
Walking a few steps further, was another splash of color with anemone flowers in pinks, purples and white.
I hadn’t even gone through the entrance and I had already taken a number of pictures – it was going to be a veritable photographic feast!
Like most areas in Victoria, colorful hanging baskets could be seen all over the garden.
Butchart Gardens are over 100 years old and were created by the Butchart family. Almost one million visitors come to visit this special place, which sits about 30 minutes outside of Victoria.
Today, I’d like to share with you some of my favorite areas in the garden.
Garden art is tastefully spread throughout the garden, usually in the form of animals.
One of my favorite color combinations is the bright green, spiky foliage of iris and its vibrant, purple flowers.
One of the many things that I liked was that the trash receptacles had plants growing on top.
I really think that this was a great idea. Imagine trash cans acting as the base for plants that add beauty. I love it!
Here are a couple more…
The garden is separated into several smaller gardens. My favorite is the Sunken Garden.
This spectacular garden was created in a former quarry.
A long stairway leads to the bottom of the garden and winding paths invite your to explore more.
It was interesting to watch the people exclaim over the beauty of the gardens many were from other countries including Australia, China, Great Britain, Japan and Spain plus the good old U.S.A.
Because I had visited the gardens before, I didn’t feel as if I had to hurry in order to be able to see everything. Today, I decided to walk slowly through my favorite parts. As a result, I spent most of my time in the Sunken Garden.
At the end of the Sunken Garden is a lake with a ‘dancing’ fountain.
Different variations of spray patterns made onlookers stop for a few minutes to enjoy the dancing waters.
After climbing out of the Sunken Garden, I strolled through other areas of the garden on my way to the Rose Garden.
Blankets of flowers surround, what I believe are crab apple trees.
Love the black bearded iris, don’t you?
Brightly-colored dahlia.
Clematis growing up on an old stump.
There is one flower in the Butchart Gardens that is a favorite of many. This is the Himalayan blue poppy.
You can find them scattered throughout the gardens and their vivid blue flowers attract everyone’s attention.
They aren’t easy to grow. To get them to germinate, you need to place the seeds in a moist paper towel and put in a Ziploc bag. Then you place the bag with the paper towel and seeds and stick in the refrigerator (in the vegetable crisper) for 4 weeks before planting.
There are blue poppy seeds available in the and I bought two packages to try to grow them in my own garden.
There are several water features scattered throughout the gardens and I liked this one with the three fish, encircled with colorful anemone flowers.
The Japanese Garden is not to be missed. I love the varying shades of green and contrasting textures.
As you can imagine, it takes a lot of work to take care of many garden spaces within Butchart Gardens.
Watching these young girls working, planting new annual flowers, reminded me of the years spent as a horticulturist on golf courses.
These are but a select few of the 319 photos I took of these truly stunning gardens.
I hope you enjoyed them!
Before leaving Butchart Gardens, a visit to this special place isn’t complete without rubbing the nose of the ‘mascot’.
This is ‘Tacca’, which is a bronze replica of a wild boar – the original was created in 1620 in Italy. ‘Taco’ is named for the sculptor who made the original.
It is said that if you rub his snout, you will have good luck. So, millions of visitors have rubbed Tacca’s snout over the years.
After leaving the gardens, we drove onto get on the ferry to Vancouver, where we will embark on the next adventure of our trip.
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Our first day in Canada began with walking from our hotel to the Parliament Buildings – just a couple of blocks from our hotel.
Victoria, is the capital of the province of British Columbia, Canada and the Parliament Buildings are quite beautiful.
This very English city is said by many “to be more English than England.”
As for me, I don’t know if I would call Victoria more English than London, but I do know that I miss the British accents 🙂
However you feel about the ‘Englishness’ of Victoria vs. London, the Parliament Buildings certainly look very English.
It’s important to note that the Europeans weren’t the first people here in British Columbia…
Native Americans came here first and their importance in the past and present in this Canadian province is evident everywhere – especially when you see their iconic totem poles.
The sight of a totem pole in front of the very English architecture of the Parliament Building is a great illustration of Victoria with two different cultures coming together and calling this beautiful area ‘home’.
We decided to take the self-guided tour and were handed a guidebook and got started.
The rotunda was beautiful and filled with scenes describing the history of British Columbia.
We all know that Elizabeth II is Queen of England, BUT she is also Queen of Canada. So it was no surprise that a significant portion of the tour involved things related to English royalty.
This stained glass window was created for Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee in 1897.
And this stained glass window was made for Queen Elizabeth II for her golden jubilee in 2002.
The Queen has visited Canada many times, including the Parliament Buildings.
Here is where the legislative assembly meets when they are in session.
When it was designed, the seats were positioned two swords lengths to prevent any ‘accidents’ in the middle of a heated debate.
Large beds outside of the Parliament Buildings contained a variety of colorful annuals.
Our next stop was at the Fairmont Empress Hotel.
Commonly referred to as ‘The Empress’, there is nothing common about this famous hotel.
The Empress is the oldest hotel in Victoria and opened in 1908. She has over 477 rooms and is perhaps best know for her ‘Afternoon High Tea’ where participants indulge in finger sandwiches, scones and tea.
Many people were enjoying the afternoon tea. The Empress even has their own China pattern available in the gift shop.
While the hotel is not inexpensive, you don’t have to stay there to enjoy the experience.
Walk through the lobby and see the fancy Royal Mail box or one of the staff dressed up in period costume…
The grounds of the hotel were beautiful with white wisteria vine and dark pink rhododendron.
The flowers are huge.
A hedge of California lilac shrubs (Ceanothus) added beauty to the grounds.
I love their flowers, although they aren’t fragrant.
The The Empress Hotel sits just off of the water.
The presence of boats, ferries, sea planes and mini-water taxis won’t let you forget that you are on an island.
Native American vendors sold their products nearby where I bought a pair of earrings.
Next, it was on to Government Street and more shopping.
There were a lot of the typical souvenir shops that each sold the same items. Many of them were rather overpriced, so I limited myself to buying a small gift for my granddaughter, Lily.
We did enjoy some of the specialty shops, but did mostly window shopping.
Lavender is widely planted in this area and looked great in this window box.
Soon, it was time for a lunch that really wasn’t a lunch at all…
Like I’ve said in earlier posts, I will really need to get back to healthy eating when I get home!
Victoria is well known for their iconic lamp posts and their hanging flower baskets.
Sadly, they hadn’t hung the flower containers yet during our visit. But, have you ever wondered how they water all those baskets?
Notice the drip irrigation lines…
The restaurant where we ate breakfast had drip irrigation going to its flowering containers.
After doing a lot of walking and exploring, we took a small break back at our hotel before heading out to afternoon tea.
There are a number of places in Victoria that serve ‘high’ tea and we made reservations at White Heather Tea Room.
In addition to your choice of a number of hot tea, you get a selection of finger sandwiches, smoked salmon, mini-tarts, scones, cookies and other pastries. Top them off with clotted cream, lemon curd and/or raspberry jam and you are in heaven!
From the description in our guidebook, I expected a few acres of nicely landscaped gardens around the house. But, I wasn’t prepared for the sheer size of the gardens or how beautiful they were. I even found some plants growing there that are also growing at my home in Arizona.
An enclosed area boasted of fragrant rose bushes, including old-fashioned roses. The sound of the water fountain made this a very peaceful spot.
This blackbird found the fountain a great place for a welcome drink of water.
Benches were strewn throughout the gardens, inviting you to stop, rest and enjoy the view.
Everywhere you looked, there was a new place to discover, including somewhat hidden areas that invited you to go in further and explore.
Parts of the gardens were covered in grass and filled with colorful rhododendrons, but there was a large section that was filled with winding garden paths flanked by colorful perennials and succulents – the majority of which, were drought tolerant.
*Note the agave in the lower left corner? Many plants that grow in both cooler climates, such as peonies and hellebores, co-existed alongside agave, Santa Barbara daisy and salvias.
Can you guess what this purple-flowering plant is?
Believe it or not, it is the herb sage. Mine flowers at home, but not this much.
Santa Barbara Daisy (Erigeron karvinskianus)
‘Hot Lips’ (Salvia greggii)
This salvia is growing in my garden right now.
Several huge trees dotted the property.
The 36-acre landscape surrounds the Government House where the lieutenant governor resides.
I must confess, that I took only two photos of the house and over 300 of the garden 🙂
While there many plants in bloom in late spring, you could also see plants that flower in winter and also those getting ready to bloom in summer.
Much to my delight, my favorite flower (that I cannot grow in my desert garden) was in bloom. I never get over how beautiful peonies are!
Iris
Red Rhododendron
These plants were growing in shallow pockets on top of this large boulder.
Large groves of Garry oak trees stood throughout the gardens. You could almost imagine that you were standing in a California garden.
As I stood admiring the oaks, I noticed out in the distance, a mountain range across the bay.
It turns out that the view is of the mountains in the Olympic National Forest in Washington state. We were there, enjoying the beauty of those majestic mountains only the day before.
It’s really amazing how much sightseeing you can do in a short amount of time!
As I finished up my tour, I circled back around the house toward the parking lot, when I saw this squirrel sitting up in the grass.
Whenever I find myself near a beautiful garden, I tend to disappear in order to explore more. My husband and my mother understand this and are so patient. In this instance, my mother and I had expected a smaller garden that would take us a few minutes to see. But, it was soon evident that there was more to see.
My mother understands me so well and my love for gardens. So, after she explored parts of the garden, she patiently waited in the car for my return.
The next day of our journey involves a return trip to the world famous, Butchart Gardens. I can hardly wait!
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A Bushel of Apples, a Pinch of Sugar and a Handful of Teenagers
UncategorizedApple harvest time starts early in the desert Southwest. In my low desert garden, it arrives precisely in the first half of June.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, this year’s apple harvest was to be a special one because for the first time, my own apple trees would provide a sufficient harvest without us having to pick the trees on the family farm.
On a bright and sunny June morning, I headed out into the potager (my kitchen garden) along with four teenagers and a 3-year old to pick apples.
We harvested 4 large bags full of sweet, tart apples from my ‘Anna’ and ‘Dorsett Golden’ apple trees, which are the verities that do best in hot, desert climates.
So, what did we plan on doing with all these apples?
Well, besides eating them raw, the plan was to make an apple pie with a cinnamon sugar crust, apple chips and applesauce.
Now, you may think that making an apple pie would be the last thing that a teenager would want to do. But, my kids along with my niece, look forward to this day every year.
I make one pie a year, so we make an occasion of it.
Before we get any further, I’d like to tell you about the participants in today’s apple adventure.
Ruthie – my 17-year old daughter
Gracie – my 13-year old daughter
Sofie – my 16-year old niece
Gracie C. – 17-year old friend of my daughter
Lily – my 3-year old granddaughter
While Ruthie and Sofie were peeling apples, Gracie C. worked on thinly slicing the apples.
Lily and Gracie had fun watching the peeling and slicing and were waiting patiently for their turn to help.
Lily’s job was to help mix the apple slices in a bowl filled with water with some lemon juice to keep the apples from browning.
Once the apples were ready, we made the pie crust. I use a mixture of both butter and vegetable shortening in my pie crust.
I taught the girls how to make a decorative pie crust edge using their fingers.
This may have been their favorite part.
To add an extra special touch to the pie, we brushed it with egg wash and then sprinkled cinnamon sugar on the top.
Here is the finished product, ready to bake in the oven.
*I’d like to note that I do not claim to be a professional food photographer like my sister. I use no special lighting and didn’t take the time to clean the counter before taking the photo 🙂
The kids had so much fun making the pie and couldn’t wait to eat it once it we took it out of the oven, which explains why I have no ‘after’ photos of our pie!
Now that our annual pie was finished, we got to work on our second apple recipe – Cinnamon Sugar Apple Chips.
Apple chips are ridiculously easy to make and they are addictive!
All you need to do is to slice them very thinly – a mandolin works great, if you have one. There is no need to peel or core the apples, which makes this an easy recipe – simply remove any stray seeds from the slices.
Lay the apple slices on a cookie sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Lily had fun with the apple slices with holes in the center.
We sprinkled the apples with cinnamon sugar, but this an optional step – you don’t have to add any cinnamon sugar.
Bake the apples in a 200 degree F oven for 1 hour and then turn the apple slices over and bake for another hour.
The apples should be crispy and melt in your mouth. A word of caution – they won’t last long!
***********************
While this photo protrays three normal teenage girls, their story is anything but average.
Their story together began years ago, before they were adopted and came to the U.S.
All of these girls grew up together in an orphanage in China. They formed deep bonds with each other and became each other’s family in the absence of parents. They often referred to themselves as “orphanage sisters”.
Unlike many adoptions, the girls waited until they were older to be adopted. Sofie and Gracie C. were adopted in 2006 and Ruthie in 2007.
Along with several other “orphanage sisters”, who were also adopted, we had a reunion several years ago in Colorado and since then, both the parents and kids have stayed in touch.
Gracie C. flew into town to visit with Ruthie and Sofie and it was so wonderful seeing them together again!
**You can read about our adoption journey to get Ruthie, here.**
Drought Tolerant and Beautiful: Whirling Butterfly Gaura
UncategorizedDo you like flowering perennials?
I do. I enjoy their soft texture, flowers, and the pollinators that come to enjoy their flowers.
Today, I’d like to share with you one of my favorite perennials that I have growing in my garden.
Gaura lindheimeri is a drought-tolerant perennial that produces small, delicate flowers that resemble butterflies floating in the air.
Available in white and pink colors, they are grown as a perennial or used as an annual in colder climates. This is one of the few plants that you can find growing in a desert garden and in more temperate climates such as the Midwest and Northeast.
This lovely perennial deserves to be seen more in the garden and I’d love to share more about gaura with you and why you’ll want to add it to your landscape in my latest Houzz article.
Great Design Plant: Gaura Lindheimeri
A Sweet and Tart Apple Harvest
Arizona, azplantlady, Southwest garden, UncategorizedIt’s hotter than he** (dare I use the word “hell”?) outside in June and while most desert dwellers can be found hibernating indoors enjoying air-conditioned temperatures in the 70’s – you’ll find a few of us darting outdoors to pick apples.
While parts of the country wait until late summer and on into early fall to harvest apples – June is apple harvesting time in the desert.
apple harvesting
Many people don’t realize that apple trees can grow in the desert Southwest – so do apricots, peaches and plums.
The key to growing these types of fruit trees is our relatively cold temperatures. They need a certain number of “chilling hours”, which are when temperatures are within 32 – 45 degrees F.
When summer temperatures are hovering in the 100+ range, it’s hard to recall what cold winter temperatures feel like, but it’s those chilly temps that make it possible to grow apple trees.
In the past years, I have harvested my apples from among the several apple trees located on the family farm.
But, not this year.
Three years ago, we transformed our side garden, creating a “potager”, which is a French term for a kitchen garden filled with fruits, herbs, vegetables alongside ornamental plants.
In the potager, we have the largest of our vegetable gardens, blackberry bushes, two peach trees, an orange tree and two apple trees.
The apple trees are located toward the end of the garden with the blackberry bushes growing against the wall.
This was what they looked like 1 1/2 years ago. Since then, they have grown quickly and are filled with apples, ready for us to pick.
Today, we will head out in the morning and pick our apples. There are so many growing, that I won’t need any from the family farm.
Normally, I make applesauce and an apple pie from apples. This year, I will make those but will add to it. We will also be making apple chips and apple sugar. Who knows? If we get a ton of apples, I may need to find more things to make with them.
My daughter, Ruthie, and niece, Sofie, will help me along with a very special friend who is their “orphanage sister”.
**Next time, I’ll share their special story along with all the goodies we make along with helpful links so you can make them yourself with apples from the supermarket.
Winter Vegetable Harvest: Broccoli and How to Freeze It
Themed Gardens: Children’s, Enabling, Native & Vegetable
Uncategorized, vegetablesWhenever I look back on my garden travels, I find that my favorites tend to be the smaller ones with more of a personal feel. Ones that I can take my time walking through without feeling like I have to hurry in order to see the entire garden.
Recently, I visited a small garden run by Washington State University that is located in Mount Vernon, WA. The WSU Discovery Garden was designed by master gardeners and divided up into multiple smaller-themed gardens filled with creative elements.
Last week, I shared with you about some of the themed gardens, including the Four Seasons, Herb, Naturescape, Shade as well as the composting area along with its ‘Yuck Bin’.
While these gardens were fun to explore, I’ve saved the best for last!
I am a strong proponent of teaching children the joys of gardening, so I was especially excited to explore the Children’s Garden.
The gateway to the garden started down a ‘yellow brick road’ through an archway with weeping mulberry growing on it, creating the impression of entering through a green tunnel into a land of make-believe.
The curving pathway that ran down the center of the garden, included the game of ‘hopscotch’. I confess that I had an overwhelming impulse to hop down the pathway, but restrained myself. But, it did bring back memories of playing hopscotch on the playground when I was in elementary school!
For those who may be unfamiliar with the rules of ‘hopscotch’, there were helpful instructions.
Other areas in the garden included a small playground set and a bench that encircled a small tree.
Two vertical gardening towers stood sentinel in the center of the garden and were planted with strawberries and carrots.
In the corner of the Children’s Garden, sat Alice with the Queen of Hearts and the Mad Hatter.
An unusual ‘hotel’ was sitting off to the side. This insect hotel has lots of nooks and crannies for solitary bees and other pollinating insects to stay. In addition, insects that stay in the ‘hotel’ also help to keep damaging insects away from the garden.
Insect hotels are typically made up of scrap bits of wood and hollow bamboo reeds.
This hotel was quite fancy and had a roof planted with hen and chicks succulents.
A giant checkerboard beckoned kids (& adults) to try their hand at a friendly game.
Of course, instructions were also included.
Visitors strolling along the ‘yellow brick road’ must pass underneath an arch with a flying monkey keeping watch.
The next garden on our tour was the Enabling Garden.
The word “enabling” means to “give someone the means to do something”, which is exactly what this garden does. It gives people with disabilities the means to garden.
This garden bed was created for those who are visually impaired.
It’s filled with a variety of plants along with rock to provide a variety of textures that are experienced primarily through touch.
The velvety feel of lamb’s ear is a favorite of many gardeners and I find myself always reaching out to touch their leaves.
White rock is used to create small planting islands and helps visually impaired visitors to experience the separate planting islands in the raised bed.
A collection of ‘hens & chicks’ add spiky texture that can be touched safely.
A variety of mosses also grew in the garden.
This raised bed was built with a sitting ledge around it, which makes it easier for those who have trouble standing or bending over to garden. With this type of bed, you can simply sit on the edge and tend to the garden.
I have several clients who have had raised beds built since they can no longer bend down to garden for a variety of reasons.
At first glance, can you tell how this planting bed can be enabling?
Note the empty area underneath the bed – can you see how it would make someone who was wheelchair bound or uses a walker be able to get up close to garden?
Besides having garden beds to enable people with disabilities to garden, there was a helpful display with a variety of gardening tools that can make gardening easier.
Each tool had a description of how it can help make routine gardening tasks easier, which is helpful for those with disabilities and even those who don’t.
Photo: 2010
The display of enabling gardening tools spoke directly to my heart as a mother of a child with disabilities.
My son, Kai, has a disability that affects his joints, which makes everyday tasks difficult. He loves to help me in the garden, but even using a pair of hand pruners is hard for him to use correctly.
Photo: March 2006
In Kai’s short life, he has had several operations, which have left him wheelchair bound for weeks at a time and having a place where he could enjoy everyday activities, such as gardening, would be a blessing.
You can read about Kai’s story here.
Walking through the garden, I noticed a sign pointing off to the outer area of the garden toward the Native Plant Garden.
Being in the Northwest, you can imagine that the path through patches of lush greenery.
As a landscape consultant, I hear of people’s frustration at trying to grow certain plants.
No matter where you live – the desert, jungle or in the Arctic Circle – the easiest way to garden is to grow plants that are native to your area.
The next best thing is to grow plants that are adapted to your area, which are native to climates similar to yours.
If you follow that simple piece of advice, you will enjoy a beautiful garden with a minimum of work since the plants will thrive with little to no attention because they are adapted to your climate.
When traveling, I always like to take time to learn more about the native plants that grow there.
Walking back toward the main areas of the garden, we passed by the Meadow Garden.
The garden consisted of grasses and wildflowers.
Throughout the year, you’ll find different flowers in bloom.
The last garden we visited was the Vegetable Garden.
However, it wasn’t just anyone’s vegetable garden…
It belonged to an infamous gardener.
Mr. McGregor’s garden was a good-sized plot filled with a variety of vegetables, including some that I decided to try in my garden in the fall.
This lovely row of leafy greens are green and purple spinach. I didn’t know that there was such thing as purple spinach. But, I do like to add unexpected color in my garden and so I will be sure to add this to my garden.
Garlic was growing nicely and would be ready to harvest in a month. You can tell when it is ready to be harvested with the outer leeaves begin to yellow and turn brown.
This crop caught my eye.
Can you tell what these are?
Potatoes!
To be completely honest, I’ve grown them a few times, but it is a lot of work for only a few potatoes in my desert garden so I don’t plant them anymore.
A healthy crop of sugar snap peas were in full flower.
I particularly love the color and shape of their flowers, don’t you?
This is one crop that I do plant each year.
An old wheelbarrow planted with radishes caught me eye as did the watering can with its strawberries.
My brother-in-law found an old, rusty wheelbarrow for my garden and I can’t wait to plant it!
It was obvious that Mr. McGregor took very good care of his garden and it was well fenced in.
But, that didn’t keep a particular rabbit from getting in 🙂
Thank you for joining me on a tour of this special garden. If you ever find yourself driving north of Seattle, toward Vancouver, take an hour and visit – you won’t be disappointed!
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On another note, we just returned from a weekend trip to Southern California where we visited my daughter, Rachele, who is stationed there in the Navy.
While we always have fun visiting her, it is even more so now because we also get to spend time with our new grandson!
He is absolutely darling and smiles more than any baby I’ve ever seen. He is one happy baby!
When we visit, we are able to stay on the Navy base with our daughter in her townhouse, which makes visiting her easier and less expensive than having to stay in a hotel.
As often occurs whenever we visit, we usually find ourselves driving the short distance to Santa Barbara. This California city is not only a beautiful place to visit, but it also holds a special place in my heart since it is where I met my husband in college.
We are back home now but look forward to seeing Rachele and her son, Eric, next month when they come out to visit us 🙂
Unexpected Discoveries In A Small Garden
UncategorizedHave you ever visited a garden that was not what you expected?
I recently had the opportunity to visit a small 2-acre garden run by master gardeners Mount Vernon, WA in conjunction with Washington State University.
Photo: Pink Dogwood
Now for those of you who kindly read through my myraid of garden travels on my Northwest road trip – this garden was somewhat different and completely unexpected.
I’ve had the opportunity through my travels to visit a number of gardens run by master gardeners and I have found them to be places for learning more about plants and gardening practices.
Discovery Garden
While I expected much of the same with this garden, I found so much more. Within its boundaries, there were so many separate gardens including a 4 seasons, cottage, Japanese, native, shade and sun garden just to name a few. However, in addition to the more traditional gardens, were also an imaginative children’s garden and an enabling garden for those with disabilities.
I’ve been waiting to share the wonders of this garden with you. I hope you enjoy the tour!
Discovery Garden
Discovery Garden
The Discovery Garden is located in the small town of Mount Vernon, otherwise known as the bulb-growing capital of the U.S. It is 60 miles north of Seattle.
Espaliered apple trees grew on the fence along the front entry.
Small apples were ripening, which made me remember that Washington is the state where the most apples are grown.
As we entered the gardens, we noticed helpful signs that described the theme of each sub-garden along with a list of the plants growing in it.
The paths curved, creating islands where each individual garden stood. This photo, above, shows how curving paths create a sense of mystery, leading one on to discover what is around the bend.
The Four Seasons garden showed examples of plants in bloom alongside others that will bloom later in the season.
Of course, anywhere I find peonies growing, I find it hard to tear myself away from this lovely flowering plant that can never grow in my warm desert garden.
Japanese gardens are quite popular in the Northwest and this garden had one of its own.
My mother and I journeyed through the garden on a cloudy Saturday morning. As we walked through the gardens, we met with one of the 27 master gardeners who take care of this garden.
She was nice enough to take us on a tour of the gardens and told us that the entire garden was designed by master gardeners. I must admit that the landscape designer in me was extremely impressed at how well it was designed.
Gardeners know that most landscapes hold secrets that aren’t always evident to the casual observer and this one was no different.
She guided us toward a tree that held a tiny hummingbird’s nest.
They have Anna’s hummingbirds living in the gardens year round.
However, I was very happy to be able to see a Rufous hummingbird for the very first time, drinking nectar from nearby flowers.
Continuing on our adventure through the garden, I spotted swaths of purple in the distance.
Have I ever told you that I like irises almost as much as peonies?
Thankfully, these can be grown in my Arizona garden.
The Herb Garden was next.
The sage was in full bloom and it was hard to imagine that people grow them for their foliage and not their lovely flowers.
There was even a variegated sage.
I really liked these rustic plant signs.
Within the Herb Garden, was a display with a list of herbs and how they are used as dyes.
Who knew that basil is used as a black dye?
Photo: Flowering Garlic Chives
Our time in this garden was limited since we had a plane to catch in Seattle in the early afternoon. To be honest, we hadn’t expected to find so much to explore in this university garden and so we had rush to see as much as we could.
Photo: Columbine
Of course, like most educational gardens, this one had a great compost working display.
Divided bins were filled with ‘greens’, ‘browns’ and ‘twigs’.
However, my favorite part was the ‘Yuck Bin’…
One of the many reasons that I like to visit gardens whenever I travel is that I get to see plants that don’t grow where I live.
This is the Heather Garden, filled with a variety of heathers.
I admit that I haven’t seen much heather growing except for trips to Great Britain.
Some of the heathers were beginning to flower.
While there is much more to see, I want to share with you one last garden area in this post that really caught my eye.
Have you ever heard of ‘naturescaping’? I haven’t, but it immediately sounded like my style of sustainable, low-maintenance garden.
This area of the garden was filled with native plants and associated cultivars that receive minimal maintenance. The plants were chosen with the goal of attracting wildlife with many plants providing shelter and food.
I hope you have enjoyed the first part of the tour of this small garden.
But, I’m not finished yet. I’ve saved the best for last. Come back next time to see the Children’s, Enabling, Native and Vegetable Gardens.
You may even spot the elusive Peter Rabbit in Mr. McGregor’s garden…
A Hidden Garden in the Smallest Place
Blackberries, Jars and a Young Helper
DIY, UncategorizedDo you grow fruit in your garden?
For those of us who live in warm, southern climates, you’ll often see a citrus tree or two in the growing in the backyard.
While I do have a lemon and orange tree growing in my garden, that is just the beginning of my fruit crop. I also have a pair of apple and peach trees that generously provide us with fruit in late spring.
The final fruit crop that I grow isn’t found on a tree but rather on bushes.
Ever since I was a child in Southern California, I have loved blackberries. We had a line of blackberry bushes growing along the back wall of our suburban home and it was often a race between us and our dog ‘Smitty’ to see who would get to them first.
Now, I have my own blackberry bushes growing in my side garden, which are located right behind my apple trees.
While I enjoy eating fresh fruit, I also like to make jam so that I can enjoy the fruits of my garden throughout the entire year.
Last month, I made several batches of peach jam and last week, it was time to make my first batch of blackberry jam.
It took a few weeks to get all of the blackberries picked from the bushes. The reason for this is that not all the berries ripened at once, so we would freeze them after picking until the entire bush was clean of berries.
My 13-year-old son asked if he could help me make the jam. I was pleasantly surprised that he would want to help me, but I will take any opportunity I can to spend time with my son.
We gathered supplies – canning jars with lids, sugar, powdered pectin and a canner.
The first step involved mashing the blackberries in a large pot before adding the powdered pectin.
The blackberry mixture had to be heated to a high temperature until it began to boil.
Then it was time to add the sugar. Jam takes a lot of sugar, but I don’t like mine overly sweet, so I decreased the amount of sugar by 1 cup.
It helps to have the sugar pre-measured before boiling the fruit mixture.
After adding the sugar, we needed to heat the mixture back up to boiling. It was nice to have a helper, since you have to stir the entire time. Once it begins to boil, you have to let it continue for 1 minute before taking off the heat.
Take a couple of minutes to scoop off any foam that accumulated on the top of the blackberry jam before filling sterilized jam jars.
We carefully added the hot blackberry jam mixture into the jam jars. It smelled so good that we were tempted to try some, but decided against it since we didn’t want to burn our mouths.
Using the handy magnet utensil that came with my canning kit, I carefully put on the lids.
At this point, you can allow the jam to cool and then enjoy it on toast or English muffin. But, you will need to refrigerate the jam unless you want to preserve it by processing it by water bath canning.
A hot water canning bath involves submerging the jars of jam in boiling water for several minutes. This will preserve the blackberry jam and allow it to last over a year on the pantry shelf.
Canning kits include a large pot, metal insert, funnel, magnet utensil for lids and tongs. They are relatively inexpensive and can be found at Walmart or Amazon. I have even seen them in my local Ace Hardware store.
After a 10-minute boiling water bath, the jam was ready to be taken out carefully with tongs.
We let them sit overnight to cool before eagerly tasting the fruits of our labors.
It is hard to compare the delicious taste of homemade jam that was made from fruit from your own garden. In fact, I find myself tempted to make a second piece of toast just so I can enjoy some more delicious blackberry jam.
Of course, you don’t have to grow your own fruit to be able to make jam – simply buy some fruit at your local grocery store or farmers market. Earlier this month, I saw 1/2 pint containers of blackberries on sale for 97¢.
While I make jam every year, this was the first time I’ve made blackberry jam and I can’t wait until next year to make some more.
Thankfully, I have eleven jars to last me through the next year.
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Want to learn more about canning?
If you are lucky, maybe your grandmother, mother, or aunt can teach you. 5 years ago, my mother taught me how to make jam and I’ve never stopped.
If you don’t have anyone to teach you, a simple Google search can help you find a class offered nearby or you can learn how to online.
A Tale of Two Landscapes and a Single Weed
Landscape DesignDo you have a neat and tidy front landscape? One where plants are pruned neatly and at the right time of year. Where drip lines are covered up and where there is never a weed in sight?
Or maybe you would describe your front garden space as somewhat natural and untamed. Where plants are late in getting pruned (if at all), drip tubing is exposed and where weeds can be found lurking in hidden corners?
Today, I’d like to share with you a story of two landscapes – the ‘neat and tidy’ neighbors have a perfectly lovely landscape filled with a combination of flowering plants and succulents. There is always something blooming in their garden in all seasons.
They even planted the outside of their side wall with pinky muhly grasses even though they don’t see this area of their landscape.
Now, let’s look at the second set of neighbors who have a ‘natural and untamed’ garden…
While this landscape is also filled with flowering plants at all seasons, you’ll notice a weed or two next to the purple trailing lantana, exposed drip tubing and a smattering of dead leaves from the nearby tree.
The plants in the ‘natural and untamed’ landscape aren’t always pruned right away and sometimes grow into nearby plants before being pruned.
If you look carefully, you’ll often find a weed (sometimes two or five) hiding alongside shrubs and underneath groundcovers.
Despite their differences in their landscape maintenance practices, the neighbors are good friends and have lived near each other for over 10 years.
Now that I have created the setting, I’d like to share with you something that happened this week that made the owner of the ‘natural and untamed’ garden absurdly happy.
As she was driving by her ‘neat and tidy’ neighbor’s house, she noticed something definitely out of place.
At first, she could hardly believe what she was seeing – a weed! It was something that she had NEVER seen growing in her neighbor’s landscape.
And it wasn’t just a little weed – it was a really big one!
The sight of this unwelcome weed brought a smile to her face as she drove a couple of houses down to her ‘natural and untamed’ landscape filled with more weeds than she would care to admit to hiding among the rambling shrubs and groundcovers.
This tale of two landscapes and a single weed leads me to ask you this question:
Which type of landscape does yours resemble?
Neat & Tidy or Natural & Untamed
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As you may have guessed (or recognized my landscape), one of the neighbors in this story is me and before I wrote this story, I got my neighbor’s permission to show their single, solitary weed.
While I like the idea of having a neat and tidy garden, I am frankly so busy helping others with their landscapes that I don’t always have time to tend mine as much as I would like.
Maybe someday, we will have time to cover up the drip tubing, get rid of all our weeds and prune our plants at the right time of year.
But, I wouldn’t hold my breath….
DIY Weed-Killer: Vinegar & Soap
Road Trip Day 8: City Traffic, Border Crossings and a Farm House Garden
Road Trip, UncategorizedThe last full day of our Northwest road trip began with a ferry ride yesterday.
The ferry was to take us from Victoria to Vancouver.
When we arrived for the ferry, approximately 60 minutes early, we got in line with our car – it looks like a bunch of cars stopped on a freeway. You then turn off the engine and sit in the car or lock it up and head over to the rest stop, complete with restaurant and shops until you are notified to start boarding the ferry.
We felt a bit more experienced this time with the process of bringing our rental car onto the ferry (as it was our second time) and walking upstairs to the passenger levels.
What we weren’t prepared for was how huge this ferry was. There were 3 levels for cars, busses and even semi-trailer trucks.
Food options consisted of a large cafe and coffee shop.
There was a very large gift shop AND a video arcade – my kids would love this!
You could also venture outside to see the beauty of the islands we passed by.
After docking just outside of Vancouver, we promptly headed toward the city.
We were somewhat surprised at how much traffic there was and it took a very long time to arrive at our hotel downtown.
This morning, after a quick breakfast, we were going to take the city trolley tour so that we could hop on and off to see the many attractions of this vibrant city.
However, we were informed because of the ongoing transit strike, that the tour was delayed. So, we decided to go out on our own.
We headed toward Granville Island Public Market, which is located in the downtown area.
It is a fun and creative place with artist studios where you watch art being created before your eyes – a definite draw for both locals and tourists alike.
Stores offering unique wares are scattered throughout the small island.
If you have pets, this shop in a railroad car likely have just the right thing for your 4-legged friend.
When I travel, I like to find stores that sell handcrafted items made from local residents. I found a beautiful Christmas ornament in this little store made by an 80-year old woman.
As we walked through the streets of the public market, there was a small dog that was walking about in its own.
He was obviously at home and comfortable with his surroundings. He paid no mind to us or any other passersby.
Now before you think that this is a lost dog – think again. He belongs to one of the local vendors and has free reign of the market.
Our attention was drawn to a nearby lake where a family of Canadian geese were swimming.
On shore, we met up with another feathered family. I found it symbolic that on our last day in Canada, that we would see Canadian geese.
We had hoped to see more of this beautiful city, but there was so much traffic due to the transit strike and it took a very long time to travel small distances, so we made the difficult decision to cut our visit short by a few hours and head back toward the States.
On our way out of the city, we spotted this community garden.
Vancouver is quite close to the U.S. border and we soon found ourselves sitting a long line to cross over the border. We settled ourselves in for a long wait.
As we inched our way closer, we saw this archway at the actual border. I like this wonderful statement about our two countries.
People anxious to visit the United States took turns taking pictures next to this sign while waiting for their cars to go through the border crossing.
It’s almost our turn!
While we had a wonderful time in Canada, I didn’t like having to pay for an international phone plan, which had extremely limited data (which I went over).
While waiting in line to cross, once we got within feet of the border my phone suddenly got a ‘No Service’ signal and then once we crossed, my regular carrier took over and I was so happy to be able to use my normal cell phone allowances again.
Since we had some extra time to fill due to our shortened visit to Vancouver, we stopped by the Fairhaven historic downtown neighborhood in Bellingham, WA.
Many of the stores had garden themed products and while I have no plans on seeing the ‘Fifty Shades of Gray’ movie, I may need to read this book 🙂
We spent about an hour shopping, spending time in a clothing boutique, checking out the local bookstore and admiring some really lovely handmade woodwork.
The last night of our road trip is to be spent in Mount Vernon, WA before we leave in the morning for Seattle where we will fly home.
Mount Vernon is known for being the largest producer of flower bulbs. They also have the Skagit Tulip Festival every April.
Choosing Mount Vernon for the last stop of our trip was largely due to its proximity from the Seattle airport AND a small garden that we wanted to visit.
LaConner Flats Farm & Garden is an 11-acre display garden of a large family-owned farm.
The gardens are free to visit and you are welcome to walk around on your own.
The centerpiece of the garden is made up of circular beds of rose bushes surrounding a gazebo – an ideal place for a wedding.
The backdrop for the roses and gazebo are formally shaped shrubs underplanted with flowering perennials.
However, it was what was behind the formal garden space that really interested me…
Behind the formally-pruned shrubs were the more informal areas of the garden.
Trees, shrubs and perennials were planted in a carefree mixture, tied together by pathways of green grass.
To be honest, there were plenty of weeds intermixed with the flowering shrubs and plants. But, it is this untamed, natural type of garden that I like best.
Several, large flowering shrubs provided vivid displays of color.
As we were admiring the flowers, we rounded the corner and came face to face with four little goats…
They were busy eating the fresh green grass and initially paid no attention to us.
A little robin stood in our path and was quite friendly.
He didn’t move until we got quit close and then hopped to the fence. Robins are rare in my neck of the woods, so I always look forward to seeing them when I travel.
The goats finally noticed our presence and came over to see if we had any food to share. Sadly, we didn’t.
I crouched down to take a picture of the friendliest goat and didn’t realize how close I was until he licked my camera’s lens.
Even though we didn’t have any food for them that didn’t stop one of them from following my mother as we walked along the path.
The pathway along the goat’s enclosure was just on the other side of the formal garden, which was separated by large shrubs.
Alongside the pathway, I saw a plant that I have rarely seen before – holly!
As we neared the end of our tour of the garden, I looked back toward our cute little friends and was trying to figure out how I could possibly talk my husband and HOA into letting us have goats 😉
This garden is surrounded by fields of wheat and the Cascade mountain range can be seen in the distance.
It is well worth the visit if you ever find yourself traveling in Northern Washington State.
We have had so many wonderful adventures during our fifth annual road trip. But, I am excited to come home and see my husband, kids, grandkids, dogs, garden – you get the picture…
Road Trip Day 7: The Beauty of Butchart Gardens
Road TripOur last day in Victoria was reserved for a visit to a very famous garden. Butchart Gardens is the place to go for visitors to Victoria.
Years ago, my in-laws took me and my husband, as a college graduation gift, to Seattle and Victoria. The year was 1998, and I was finishing up the last semester of my horticulture degree.
Flush with my new knowledge of plants and horticultural practices, I was especially looking forward to visiting this beautiful garden. Fast forward 17 years later, I was excited to go back.
My mother and fellow travel companion.
Immediately upon leaving the parking lot, we were faced with fragrant, yellow wisteria that draped over an arbor.
Walking a few steps further, was another splash of color with anemone flowers in pinks, purples and white.
I hadn’t even gone through the entrance and I had already taken a number of pictures – it was going to be a veritable photographic feast!
Like most areas in Victoria, colorful hanging baskets could be seen all over the garden.
Butchart Gardens are over 100 years old and were created by the Butchart family. Almost one million visitors come to visit this special place, which sits about 30 minutes outside of Victoria.
Today, I’d like to share with you some of my favorite areas in the garden.
Garden art is tastefully spread throughout the garden, usually in the form of animals.
One of my favorite color combinations is the bright green, spiky foliage of iris and its vibrant, purple flowers.
One of the many things that I liked was that the trash receptacles had plants growing on top.
I really think that this was a great idea. Imagine trash cans acting as the base for plants that add beauty. I love it!
Here are a couple more…
The garden is separated into several smaller gardens. My favorite is the Sunken Garden.
This spectacular garden was created in a former quarry.
A long stairway leads to the bottom of the garden and winding paths invite your to explore more.
It was interesting to watch the people exclaim over the beauty of the gardens many were from other countries including Australia, China, Great Britain, Japan and Spain plus the good old U.S.A.
Because I had visited the gardens before, I didn’t feel as if I had to hurry in order to be able to see everything. Today, I decided to walk slowly through my favorite parts. As a result, I spent most of my time in the Sunken Garden.
At the end of the Sunken Garden is a lake with a ‘dancing’ fountain.
Different variations of spray patterns made onlookers stop for a few minutes to enjoy the dancing waters.
After climbing out of the Sunken Garden, I strolled through other areas of the garden on my way to the Rose Garden.
Blankets of flowers surround, what I believe are crab apple trees.
Love the black bearded iris, don’t you?
Brightly-colored dahlia.
Clematis growing up on an old stump.
There is one flower in the Butchart Gardens that is a favorite of many. This is the Himalayan blue poppy.
You can find them scattered throughout the gardens and their vivid blue flowers attract everyone’s attention.
They aren’t easy to grow. To get them to germinate, you need to place the seeds in a moist paper towel and put in a Ziploc bag. Then you place the bag with the paper towel and seeds and stick in the refrigerator (in the vegetable crisper) for 4 weeks before planting.
There are blue poppy seeds available in the and I bought two packages to try to grow them in my own garden.
There are several water features scattered throughout the gardens and I liked this one with the three fish, encircled with colorful anemone flowers.
The Japanese Garden is not to be missed. I love the varying shades of green and contrasting textures.
As you can imagine, it takes a lot of work to take care of many garden spaces within Butchart Gardens.
Watching these young girls working, planting new annual flowers, reminded me of the years spent as a horticulturist on golf courses.
These are but a select few of the 319 photos I took of these truly stunning gardens.
I hope you enjoyed them!
Before leaving Butchart Gardens, a visit to this special place isn’t complete without rubbing the nose of the ‘mascot’.
This is ‘Tacca’, which is a bronze replica of a wild boar – the original was created in 1620 in Italy. ‘Taco’ is named for the sculptor who made the original.
It is said that if you rub his snout, you will have good luck. So, millions of visitors have rubbed Tacca’s snout over the years.
After leaving the gardens, we drove onto get on the ferry to Vancouver, where we will embark on the next adventure of our trip.
More to come tomorrow!
Road Trip Day 6: Parliament, High Tea and Unexpected Gardens
Road TripOur first day in Canada began with walking from our hotel to the Parliament Buildings – just a couple of blocks from our hotel.
Victoria, is the capital of the province of British Columbia, Canada and the Parliament Buildings are quite beautiful.
This very English city is said by many “to be more English than England.”
As for me, I don’t know if I would call Victoria more English than London, but I do know that I miss the British accents 🙂
However you feel about the ‘Englishness’ of Victoria vs. London, the Parliament Buildings certainly look very English.
It’s important to note that the Europeans weren’t the first people here in British Columbia…
Native Americans came here first and their importance in the past and present in this Canadian province is evident everywhere – especially when you see their iconic totem poles.
The sight of a totem pole in front of the very English architecture of the Parliament Building is a great illustration of Victoria with two different cultures coming together and calling this beautiful area ‘home’.
We decided to take the self-guided tour and were handed a guidebook and got started.
The rotunda was beautiful and filled with scenes describing the history of British Columbia.
We all know that Elizabeth II is Queen of England, BUT she is also Queen of Canada. So it was no surprise that a significant portion of the tour involved things related to English royalty.
This stained glass window was created for Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee in 1897.
And this stained glass window was made for Queen Elizabeth II for her golden jubilee in 2002.
The Queen has visited Canada many times, including the Parliament Buildings.
Here is where the legislative assembly meets when they are in session.
When it was designed, the seats were positioned two swords lengths to prevent any ‘accidents’ in the middle of a heated debate.
Large beds outside of the Parliament Buildings contained a variety of colorful annuals.
Our next stop was at the Fairmont Empress Hotel.
Commonly referred to as ‘The Empress’, there is nothing common about this famous hotel.
The Empress is the oldest hotel in Victoria and opened in 1908. She has over 477 rooms and is perhaps best know for her ‘Afternoon High Tea’ where participants indulge in finger sandwiches, scones and tea.
Many people were enjoying the afternoon tea. The Empress even has their own China pattern available in the gift shop.
While the hotel is not inexpensive, you don’t have to stay there to enjoy the experience.
Walk through the lobby and see the fancy Royal Mail box or one of the staff dressed up in period costume…
The grounds of the hotel were beautiful with white wisteria vine and dark pink rhododendron.
The flowers are huge.
A hedge of California lilac shrubs (Ceanothus) added beauty to the grounds.
I love their flowers, although they aren’t fragrant.
The The Empress Hotel sits just off of the water.
The presence of boats, ferries, sea planes and mini-water taxis won’t let you forget that you are on an island.
Native American vendors sold their products nearby where I bought a pair of earrings.
Next, it was on to Government Street and more shopping.
There were a lot of the typical souvenir shops that each sold the same items. Many of them were rather overpriced, so I limited myself to buying a small gift for my granddaughter, Lily.
We did enjoy some of the specialty shops, but did mostly window shopping.
Lavender is widely planted in this area and looked great in this window box.
Soon, it was time for a lunch that really wasn’t a lunch at all…
Like I’ve said in earlier posts, I will really need to get back to healthy eating when I get home!
Victoria is well known for their iconic lamp posts and their hanging flower baskets.
Sadly, they hadn’t hung the flower containers yet during our visit. But, have you ever wondered how they water all those baskets?
Notice the drip irrigation lines…
The restaurant where we ate breakfast had drip irrigation going to its flowering containers.
After doing a lot of walking and exploring, we took a small break back at our hotel before heading out to afternoon tea.
There are a number of places in Victoria that serve ‘high’ tea and we made reservations at White Heather Tea Room.
In addition to your choice of a number of hot tea, you get a selection of finger sandwiches, smoked salmon, mini-tarts, scones, cookies and other pastries. Top them off with clotted cream, lemon curd and/or raspberry jam and you are in heaven!
After tea, our day was winding down and we headed toward our last stop – The Government House’s gardens.
From the description in our guidebook, I expected a few acres of nicely landscaped gardens around the house. But, I wasn’t prepared for the sheer size of the gardens or how beautiful they were. I even found some plants growing there that are also growing at my home in Arizona.
An enclosed area boasted of fragrant rose bushes, including old-fashioned roses. The sound of the water fountain made this a very peaceful spot.
This blackbird found the fountain a great place for a welcome drink of water.
Benches were strewn throughout the gardens, inviting you to stop, rest and enjoy the view.
Everywhere you looked, there was a new place to discover, including somewhat hidden areas that invited you to go in further and explore.
Parts of the gardens were covered in grass and filled with colorful rhododendrons, but there was a large section that was filled with winding garden paths flanked by colorful perennials and succulents – the majority of which, were drought tolerant.
*Note the agave in the lower left corner? Many plants that grow in both cooler climates, such as peonies and hellebores, co-existed alongside agave, Santa Barbara daisy and salvias.
Can you guess what this purple-flowering plant is?
Believe it or not, it is the herb sage. Mine flowers at home, but not this much.
Santa Barbara Daisy (Erigeron karvinskianus)
‘Hot Lips’ (Salvia greggii)
This salvia is growing in my garden right now.
Several huge trees dotted the property.
The 36-acre landscape surrounds the Government House where the lieutenant governor resides.
I must confess, that I took only two photos of the house and over 300 of the garden 🙂
While there many plants in bloom in late spring, you could also see plants that flower in winter and also those getting ready to bloom in summer.
Much to my delight, my favorite flower (that I cannot grow in my desert garden) was in bloom. I never get over how beautiful peonies are!
Iris
Red Rhododendron
These plants were growing in shallow pockets on top of this large boulder.
Large groves of Garry oak trees stood throughout the gardens. You could almost imagine that you were standing in a California garden.
As I stood admiring the oaks, I noticed out in the distance, a mountain range across the bay.
It turns out that the view is of the mountains in the Olympic National Forest in Washington state. We were there, enjoying the beauty of those majestic mountains only the day before.
It’s really amazing how much sightseeing you can do in a short amount of time!
As I finished up my tour, I circled back around the house toward the parking lot, when I saw this squirrel sitting up in the grass.
Whenever I find myself near a beautiful garden, I tend to disappear in order to explore more. My husband and my mother understand this and are so patient. In this instance, my mother and I had expected a smaller garden that would take us a few minutes to see. But, it was soon evident that there was more to see.
My mother understands me so well and my love for gardens. So, after she explored parts of the garden, she patiently waited in the car for my return.
The next day of our journey involves a return trip to the world famous, Butchart Gardens. I can hardly wait!